VacationSelector
Haedong Yonggungsa temple on the rocks by the sea, Busan
BusanHaedong Yonggungsa temple on the rocks by the sea
Ferries off the Kordon promenade, Izmir
IzmirFerries off the Kordon promenade

Photos: Busan by Andrea De Santis, Pexels License; Izmir by Toygar Par, Pexels License.

Busan or Izmir?

Our verdict in twelve categories, each scored against the same fixed benchmark cities, and the climate month by month, so you can choose for your trip.

Choose Busan for

  • wellness
  • families
  • nature and the outdoors

What lies behind each score is written up on Busan’s own page.

Choose Izmir for

  • day trips
  • prices
  • live music and the arts

What lies behind each score is written up on Izmir’s own page.

Scoreboard

Twelve categories on one fixed scale from 0 to 100. The shaded stretch is the gap between the two.

Beaches & swimming. Busan 68, Izmir 62: Busan leads by 6 points.
Food & drink. Busan and Izmir are level on 72.
Culture & sights. Busan 52, Izmir 55: Izmir leads by 3 points.
Nightlife. Busan and Izmir are level on 60.
Nature & outdoors. Busan 74, Izmir 66: Busan leads by 8 points.
Day trips. Busan 74, Izmir 86: Izmir leads by 12 points.
Good for families. Busan 70, Izmir 55: Busan leads by 15 points.
Getting around. Busan 68, Izmir 63: Busan leads by 5 points.
Shopping & style. Busan 60, Izmir 55: Busan leads by 5 points.
Affordability. Busan 56, Izmir 66: Izmir leads by 10 points.
Live music & performing arts. Busan 42, Izmir 48: Izmir leads by 6 points.
Wellness & relaxation. Busan 78, Izmir 57: Busan leads by 21 points.
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What lies behind each score is written up on the two cities’ own pages: Busan and Izmir.

Your match

Pick a travel style or drag the sliders, and both match scores follow your weighting.

Busan
Best match
65match

Wins on wellness and families with your weighting.

Izmir
62match

Wins on day trips and prices with your weighting.

What matters to you?

When should you go?

Pick your month. The climate figures are measured averages, not a forecast.

Busan in July

27 °Cdaytime high
22 °Cnight-time low
352 mmrain in the month
5 hsunshine a day
23 °Csea
14 hdaylight a day

Izmir in July

34 °Cdaytime high
24 °Cnight-time low
1 mmrain in the month
13 hsunshine a day
23 °Csea
15 hdaylight a day

Daytime high, °C

0°10°20°30°40°JFMAMJJASOND

Rainfall in the month, mm

0100200300400JFMAMJJASOND
BusanIzmir

Temperature and rainfall are climate normals, averaged over the years shown. Busan: 1991-2020 normals, Pusan (9.7 km from centre). Izmir: 1991-2020 normals, Izmir (3.4 km from centre).

Before you go

MeasureBusanIzmir
Official languageKorean, Korean Sign LanguageTurkish
CurrencyWon (KRW)Turkish Lira (TRY)
SocketsCF220 V, 60 HzCF230 V, 50 Hz
Driving sideRightRight
Time zoneUTC+9UTC+3
Emergency numberPolice 112, ambulance 119, fire 119112
Elevation30 m2 m
Main airportGimhae International Airport (PUS)12 km from centre49 non-stop destinationsAdnan Menderes International Airport (ADB)13 km from centre120 non-stop destinations
Public holidays this year18 days14 days

By the numbers

MeasureBusanIzmir
City population3,453,1984,493,242
People per km²4,4864,760
Museums within 10 km729
UNESCO World Heritage sites within 50 km30
Swim season, months above 21 °C4 months5 months

Where else could you go?

Every comparison below shares a destination with this one, so you can follow Busan or Izmir somewhere new.

Browse every destination

Sources

Structured data from Wikidata (CC0). Weather data by Meteostat. Meteorological data provided by NOAA, DWD and others. Rainfall where no rain gauge is within 25 km is from the TerraClimate 1991-2020 climatology (Abatzoglou et al. 2018, Scientific Data), read at the city. Sea surface temperature from NOAA OISST v2.1, NOAA Physical Sciences Laboratory. Airport data from OurAirports (public domain). Public holidays from Nager.Date (MIT). Exchange rates via Frankfurter, based on European Central Bank reference rates. Non-stop route lists from the "Airlines and destinations" tables on English Wikipedia airport articles, by Wikipedia contributors, reused under CC BY-SA 4.0. Currency from the ISO 4217 register maintained by SIX, cross-checked against country data from GeoNames (CC BY 4.0). Price level from World Bank open data (PPP conversion factor for private consumption and official exchange rate), CC BY 4.0. Time zones from GeoNames (CC BY 4.0); clock offsets computed from the IANA time zone database. Tourism statistics from Eurostat, © European Union, reused under CC BY 4.0. Daylight hours computed from each destination's latitude using the NOAA solar position algorithm.

Category scores are our editorial verdict under rubric v3, each placed against the same fixed benchmark cities; the climate figures are measured. How the scores are set. Snapshot generated 2026-10-31. Daily budgets are estimates from country price levels.